Thursday, August 31, 2017

I recently stumbled upon another set from the DC Nano Metalfigs minifigures by Jada Toys that I didn't realize was available. It's a 10 pack that features seven heroes and three villains for $10. That's a pretty good deal! While only four of the figures are listed as exclusives to this set (Two-Face, The Element Man, Martian Manhunter, and Batman in black and silver), I have yet to see the single packed Mr. Freeze and the black and red outfitted Wonder Woman, so there does seem to be quite a bit new here. Plus, since four of these characters are members of the DCEU Justice League, they fit in perfectly as part of the "Unite the League" series of reviews I'll be running until Justice League comes out. So far I have yet to see any of the Nano Metalfigs anywhere except for at Wal-Mart, but they're supposed to hit retailers everywhere soon. I'm loving this little line of die-cast metal minis and it's always fun to talk about them. Let's check them out a bit more closely after the break...

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

I said it a few weeks ago in this review, and I'll say it again today: There is definitely someone who loves The Dark Knight Returns at Mattel
and I hope we keep getting figures from it peppered into this line. Well, that's not 100% true, actually. While the packaging does say that the Flash is from The Dark Knight Returns, it actually isn't. Instead, it's from The Dark Knight Strikes Again. That's kind of like packaging an action figure from Batman & Robin and saying it's from the 1989 Batman film. Yeah, their is some degree of relation, but one is amazing and the other is pretty far from amazing. The difference between those two? I do allow a copy of The Dark Knight Strikes Again in my home. Batman & Robin is still banned. Anyways, despite my not being a fan of the book, I do like this version of the Flash. He's a very unique variant and makes for a really good Walgreens exclusive. Paired up with the Atom and an unmasked Bruce Wayne head, this is a pretty tough exclusive for a collector of DC Comics action figures to pass up. Let's check him out in more detail after the break...

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Over the next few months I'll be celebrating the impending release of Justice League by lumping all of my reviews containing the heroes and villains of the film together using the "Unite the League" banner. Today I'm looking at Medicom's MAFEX version Ben Affleck's Batman in one of my favorite scenes from Batman v. Superman: Knightmare Batman! I love this costume so much that while I already have the Mattel version (and the One:12 Collective version preordered), I definitely needed the MAFEX version, too. The Medicom's MAFEX line has really improved over the past year or so and their releases of Armored Batman and Harley Quinn have been some of my favorite releases over the past year. Let's check out this incredible looking Knightmare Batman figure after the break...

Monday, August 28, 2017

So, going into Justice League who do you think the bigger draw is? Ben Affleck as Batman or Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman? Pretty difficult choice, eh? Anyways, today I'm looking at another figure from Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse: Justice League series and, let me warn you, it's going to get rough. It has nothing to do with Wonder Woman, though: It's about the way Mattel is handling this line. Here's the problem: Mattel has pretty much released the exact same figure that they released earlier this year for Wonder Woman with nothing new except for a weaker headsculpt and a new Collect & Connect piece. I am generally fine with repacks. Sometimes a character is popular or a certain figure becomes extremely rare and a company wants to get the toy back out to fans. Hasbro is getting ready to do it again for Star Wars: The Black Series, as we'll see repacks of the OT Stormtrooper and the 40th Anniversary Darth Vader alongside of new figures of Rey, Luke Skywalker, and Hera Syndulla. No problem. I already own those figures and I can pass them up. The problem with Mattel's Justice League line is that in order to build the film's (presumably) lead antagonist, Steppenwolf, you're going to have to buy every figure in the set. And, let's be honest, considering the track record of action figures from DCEU films, unless you're a main hero, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, or the Joker, you're probably not going to get another action figure released. The release of Justice League should be a major event for DC, Warner Bros., and Mattel, but Mattel is making it feel like leftovers from the previous DCEU films. I'm going to rant a bit during this review, something I don't feel like I do often, but I think it's important. Rather than craft an incredible new figure of Wonder Woman, Mattel took a previously released figure, slapped it in a new package, and said "Good enough." Weak! Read on to take a closer look at the figure after the break...

Sunday, August 27, 2017

At this point it's a tie between Cyborg and Aquaman as the member of the Justice League whom we've seen the least on screen. I feel like Aquaman is getting more media exposure due to being portrayed by Jason Momoa and the significant changes to the characters appearance from the classic version everyone is familiar with, but I'm really curious to see how younger DC fans react to a live-action Cyborg. Considering the character's prominence in a popular show like Teen Titans Go, it'll be interesting to have a superhero that younger viewers may know more about than many older moviegoers. While Cyborg has been an important of the Teen Titans and the DC Universe since 1980, it's only been since the start of the New 52 that he's been promoted to the big leagues as a core member of the Justice League. While Cyborg did appear in Smallville (portrayed by the late Lee Thompson Young), actor Ray Fisher is really getting the opportunity to define the film version of the character. I'm excited to see Cyborg in action and I was excited to find this figure. While Aquaman and Flash were missing the day I found most of this series, Cyborg was still present. How does he measure up to the rest of the team? Let's find out after the break...

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Time for another Justice League action figure review! Let's hope that this one fairs better than yesterday's Superman figure, right? Today I'm checking out Batman, the second figure in the series (based on the numbers on the back of the box). Interestingly, while the package just calls this Batman, every other company producing figures and statues of this same design seems to be calling this the Tactical Suit. I wonder why Mattel didn't call this one Tactical Suit Batman? Do they think that sounds overly Kenner-ish? Anyways, Batman is probably going to be the easiest figure in this series to find as the early cased have him packed three to a case of eight (with everyone else packed one to a case). I picked this up at Target when they were first released, along with Superman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman. I've managed to pick up Aquaman thus far but I'm still without the Flash! For now, though, we'll focus on Tactical Suit Batman, the one character who seems to have a noticeably different costume for Justice League. More after the break...

Friday, August 25, 2017

Check out the latest episode of the Confirmed Epic Podcast and you can hear my friends the Reel Brad Bell and AKA Andrew Stokes talk about upcoming Fall and Winter movie releases and how crazy it is that we're getting some of the biggest blockbusters of the year after the Summer movie season! Today I'm beginning what will surely be a long series of reviews covering toys from one of those massive end of the year releases: Justice League. Y'all, as a DC die-hard, I'm both insanely excited and just a bit apprehensive about the first ever onscreen appearance of the entire Justice League as a cohesive team. Yes, I know they've all appeared in BvS, but seeing them together in action is going to be a completely different animal. Will it succeed? Will it fail? Who knows? To be fair, I've enjoyed the DCEU immensely, but I can understand why so many other fans and moviegoers have not. I feel like Justice League is either going to finally overcome the problems of the DCEU or compound them; I don't think there is going to be any middle ground here. Of course, we're here to talk about toys and not Justice League, so let's get started with a review of the Man of Steel who kicked off the DCEU: Superman. Superman is listed as figure number one in this initial six figure subset of Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse line, so let's start of with him. Read on and see how this figure fares after the break...

Thursday, August 24, 2017

In episode #74 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes countdown their Top 10 most anticipated films of Fall and Winter 2017. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

Let us know what you thought about the podcast in the comments below or follow and tweet us @thereelbradbell

When Lucasfilm and Disney officially announced that the Expanded Universe was no longer considered to be canon, I'm pretty sure the first things that came to my mind were Mara Jade, Shadows of the Empire, Kyle Katarn, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. I didn't get into Star Wars into the early/mid 90s (I was probably 11 or 12) and the books and video games were all the rage among Star Wars fans. While I was never much of an Expanded Universe reader after the release of Episode 1, I absolutely kept up with it throughout the mid 1990s and thus there was never a time for me growing up when those early EU characters like Thrawn, Mara Jade, Kyle Katarn, Dash Rendar, and Prince Xizor differed from film characters in terms of how seriously treated them. I had posters, action figures, and Micro Machines of them; why would I view them differently? Fortunately, Lucasfilm has been taking some EU concepts and characters and weaving them back into the Star Wars canon. Grand Admiral Thrawn, now also known as Mitth'raw'nuruodo, is back in both a new novel by character creator Timothy Zahn and in season 3 of Rebels. Seeing Thrawn in the Black Series was a great surprise and my most anticipated figure of SDCC 2017. While Thrawn will be appearing on Force Friday in the standard Black Series line, this deluxe version of the character was an SDCC exclusive. I picked him up ASAP and I'm glad that I did as he is incredible. Let's take a look at this cool action figure after the break...

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

DC Collectibles has pretty much given up on current comic based figures. And DC Icons. And video game based figures (Really? Nothing from Injustice 2?). And movie based figures. Heck, there really isn't a lot DC Collectibles has going on right now that excites me or that DC Collectibles seems to have any faith in. Thankfully, DC Bombshells is still rolling right along and just seems to keep getting better and better and better. I am absolutely a sucker for the Bombshells aesthetic and collect the statues and the action figures. Heck, I even dig the Lil' Bombshells line. When it comes to the Bombshells statue line I'm not a completest, but I do pick up the ones I really like. Katana is my seventh statue in the series. She's the 19th release in the line (not including the various holiday releases) and hit stores in February of this year. I finally picked her up last month and have been waiting for a chance to review her. Today's the day! Let's take a closer look at the Bombshells version of Katana after the break...

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

I've been on vacation for a week or so, meaning that there haven't been any new reviews lately. That's going to change starting now because I have a ton of good stuff lined up to show off, starting with the Toys 'R Us exclusive Clone Commander Gree from Star Wars: The Black Series. Gree was released as an exclusive during SDCC but he's going to be available in Toys 'R Us stores everywhere, similar to the R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2 three pack from last year. Like many Star Wars fans I love collecting different Clone Troopers, especially the named troopers who appeared in The Clone Wars. While Gree first appeared in Revenge of the Sith, TCW gave the character a personality, making his death in ROTS tragic upon rewatching it. I'm still amazed by how TCW makes the prequels so much better! Anyways, we're not here today to talk about the prequels and TCW, though, are we? We're here to talk about Clone Commander Gree! Toys 'R Us has had a few exclusive Black Series figures over the years, but I do believe that Gree is the most desirable. One thing that's worth nothing is that he retails for $25 dollars, $5 dollars more than your average. Apparently, Hasbro has stated that this is because of his more intricate paint job. Do you think CC-1004 looks better than your average Star Wars: The Black Series figure? Let's take a closer look at this figure after the break...

Thursday, August 17, 2017

In episode #73 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes review the Japanese Summer 2016 Blockbuster :Shin Godzilla in honor of the film's recent American Blu-Ray release. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

Let us know what you thought about the podcast in the comments below or follow and tweet us @thereelbradbell

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Hokey Halloween Horror 2017 continues on The Confirmed Epic Podcast with the start of Anthology August. Join The Reel Brad Bell and Jerry "Barbecue17" Reed as we explore our first entry of Anthology August the horrifyingly terrific 2015 Horror Anthology film: Tales of Halloween. So pour yourself a Pumpkin flavored beverage of your choice hot or cold (If you can find it at the grocery store in August!) goblins and ghouls and prepare yourself for an influx of Fall/Halloween spirit.

Monday, August 14, 2017

*In honor of our review of Shin Godzilla on Confirmed Epic Podcast #73 later this week we are going back into The Epic Review Vault revisting Gareth Edwards 2014 Godzilla film

*This Podcast originally aired on May 18th 2014.

In the Godzilla-Sized 29th installment of The Confirmed Epic Podcast we review Andrew Stokes most anticipated film of Summer 2014: Gareth Edwards Godzilla reboot.In one of the most action packed editions of Epic News in the history of the show The Reel Brad Bell, BBQ17, and Andrew Stokes share their opinions on: Batfleck’s suit and Batmobile, The upcoming Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie from Lions Gate, Channing Tatum playing Gambit, Jacen Solo possibly being in Star Wars Episode 7, and the upcoming Kinectless Xbox One.In what we have been checking out the gang discuss: The Room, Batman Eternal, Batman Hush, Young Justice Season 2, and House of Cards season 1 on Netflix.

Let us know what you thought about the podcast in the comments below or follow and tweet us @thereelbradbell

Friday, August 11, 2017

During the weekend of SDCC 2017 I noticed an email from Mattel in my inbox advertising their latest endeavor, the Mattel Vault. Essentially, Mattel has just added their adult collector targeted items to Mattel Shop, but it's a nice way to sell some items that are still available. Plus, guess what? The abysmal Digital River is no longer around! In fact, I checked it out and ordered this very cool new The Dark Knight Returns set that is exclusive to the Mattel Vault and guess what? It was shipped through a normal shipping method, not the Newgistics craziness that plagued MattyCollector and doomed all orders to sitting in Sparks, Nevada for a few days. Hopefully Mattel keeps some cool stuff on this site. Now that we've addressed that craziness, you're probably wondering "What's the deal with the Drow versions of Batman and Superman?" I'm glad you asked! This set of figures is part of the The Dark Knight Returns subset of figures in the DC Comics Multiverse line and features the two members of the DC trinity battling as they appeared on the cover of The Dark Knight Returns #3: The Dark Knight Falls. It's a cool idea, but how does it work in execution? Find out after the break...

Thursday, August 10, 2017

On episode #72 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes review the latest heavy historical drama from Academy Award winning Director Kathryn Bigelow: Detroit starring John Boyega. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

Let us know what you thought about the podcast in the comments below or follow and tweet us @thereelbradbell

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

I've been sitting on this review for a couple of weeks as I had quite a few other things to review and, boy, have I been itching to get to this one. It's the SDCC 2017 exclusive X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker from Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series. The Landspeeder was my first Star Wars vehicle, although mine was from the Power of the Force II line. It's always been a vehicle that absolutely represents Star Wars to me, probably even more so than the Millennium Falcon. I'm not saying I like it more or think it's more iconic; there's just something about it that perfectly captures the "lived in" Star Wars feel. This year Hasbro had three Black Series exclusive items (this, Grand
Admiral Thrawn, the Rey and Luke 2-pack. Heck, four if you count the
Toys 'R Us exclusive Gree.) and I have to say that this is the one I was
most looking forward to. While Hasbro is going to be releasing this vehicle later this year, the SDCC exclusive has some differences such as higher quality paint applications, a spinning engine turbine, a "premium" tunic, and a deluxe display box. I'm a Black Series sucker and I had to have the best version of the Landspeeder, so here it is! Since this is a pretty big release, I'm going to skip the usual "Positives & Negatives" format and go through the set piece by piece. Let's take a closer look at the Landspeeder and Luke Skywalker after the break...

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The Unfinished C-3PO POP! vinyl I looked at yesterday was one of two POPs in the July Smuggler's Bounty box, so today we will be looking at the second: R5-D4. While R5-D4 is a pretty minor character, he gets more credit than most other droids because: A. He actually affects the plot, and B. He had an action figure in the vintage Kenner line. He also had a cool as heck missile firing variant in the Power of the Force 2 line, but I think that figure only resonates with a few of us. Overall, I'd wager R5-D4's enduring popularity (granted, I'm not sure I'd call him mainstream or anything) can mostly be attributed to having a vintage Kenner figure. If you scored a vintage Kenner figure, you're guaranteed to be loved forever. Let's take a look at this very cool R5-D4 POP! vinyl after the break...

Sunday, August 6, 2017

I've had the July 2017 Smuggler's Bounty box for a few weeks but I just have not had the chance to talk about it yet, so why not today, right? July's theme was Droids and this box included a plethora of droid themed items: A C-3PO and R2-D2 themed patch, a t-shirt with R2-D2 and BB-8, a Battle Droid enamel pin, and two Funko POP! vinyls: R5-D4 and an unfinished C-3PO. Direct from Episode 1, a film I have become increasingly nostalgic for over the past 5 years or so, comes this exclusive POP! of C-3PO with his exposed circuits showing. I remember picking up the Episode 1 C-3PO figure and being amazed at how cool he was with all of his parts showing. It's such a cool! Now, thanks to Funko, you too can own your own unfinished version of Anakin's little side project. Ready for a closer look at this POP? Then join me after the break...

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the Academy Award winning film Suicide Squad.
Yeah, it's not a perfect movie but, for a DC fan like me, the chance to
see a fairly diverse roster of DC characters interact made this one
pretty enjoyable. I'm also a huge fan of Margot Robbie's portrayal of
Harley Quinn. I've really narrowed my modern collecting focus down to DC
action figures, Star Wars: The Black Series, and One:12 Collective, so
I've been able to score more versions of Batman related characters,
which is possibly my primary collecting passion. Today I'm looking at
Medicom's Harley Quinn from their MAFEX line. Being a collector of 6-7
inch DC figures and a huge Harley Quinn fan, I've already picked up a
few versions of the character in this same outfit by various companies.
Last year I reviewed Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse versions of the character while earlier this year I reviewed the S.H. Figuarts Harley Quinn
(I also have the One:12 Collective and Hot Toys releases preordered!)
While Mattel's effort is the $20 dollar mass market figure you might
expect, Bandai's S.H. Figuarts release is pretty impressive. So
impressive, in fact, that I didn't think I would end up buying the MAFEX
release. It turns out, Medicom's MAFEX version might be better. If
you're really deciding between these two (as they're the most similar 6
inch "high end" Harley Quinn figures on the market) I would encourage
you to open up the S.H. Figuarts review in another window and check
these out side by side. I've done my best to structure these both the
same overall, so you should be able to compare and contrast the two.
Let's check this one out, shall we?

Thursday, August 3, 2017

On episode #71 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes review the eagerly anticipated return of Director Edgar Wright: Baby Driver. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

A few days ago I looked at the DC Nano Metalfigs Pack A and now I'm checking out Pack B! (There isn't a Pack C yet, so you'll have to just keep wondering what my next review will be.) Filled with some absolute A-list DC Comics star power, Pack B includes Superman, Supergirl, Aquaman, and exclusive figures of Lex Luthor and Batman. Thomas Wayne as Batman from Flashpoint, to be precise. Yup, that is indeed very, very cool. I'm really liking these little minifigures, especially considering they're about $1 each and made from die-cast metal. Let's take a closer look at this roster after the break...